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very gud question +1 frm meEarlier i also chose B thinking leaf and stem material as plural. But after going t hru the link ,which Nitya posted, Leaf and stem is the adjective for material (singular). Hence it should be D

priyankur_saha@ml.com wrote:

In the most common procedure for harvesting forage crops such as alfalfa, as much as 20 percent of the leaf and small-stem material, which is the most nutritious of all the parts of the plant, shattered and fell to the ground.

(A) which is the most nutritious of all the parts of the plant, shattered and fell (B) the most nutritious of all parts of the plant, shatter and fall (C) the parts of the plant which were most nutritious, will shatter and fall (D) the most nutritious parts of the plant, shatters and falls (E) parts of the plant which are the most nutritious, have shattered and fallen

In the most common procedure for harvesting forage crops such as alfalfa, as much as 20 percent of the leaf and small-stem material, which is the most nutritious of all the parts of the plant, shattered and fell to the ground.(A) which is the most nutritious of all the parts of the plant, shattered and fell(B) the most nutritious of all parts of the plant, shatter and fall(C) the parts of the plant which were most nutritious, will shatter and fall(D) the most nutritious parts of the plant, shatters and falls(E) parts of the plant which are the most nutritious, have shattered and fallen

pls post ans with explanations

Subject : 20 percent of the leaf and small-stem material

The sentence talks about We need a appositive here the most common procedure for harvesting forage crops. So it should be in present tense. Subject is singular --- 20% of something.

Phrases such as...half of......part of......20% of...are singular when they refer to a mass or to non-countable objects,and plural when they refer to a number of individual items or to countable objects.

For example,20% of the cards ARE missing.20% of the deck IS missing.

For the GMAT question stated in the original post,D is correct and can be rephrased as...as much as 20% of the...material...shatters and falls...Note: The phrase "leaf and small-stem" is an adjective phrase that refers to the word "material".

B is incorrect and can be rephrased as...as much as 20% of the...material...shatter and fall.To correct B, we can rewrite it as...as many as 20% of the...materials...shatter and fall.

Are you sure?For me the subject is "20 percent of the leaf" and "small-stem material" (that is, two nouns joined by AND), so it is therefore plural.

Could you explain this?Many thanks in advance.

cabelk wrote:

For the GMAT question stated in the original post,D is correct and can be rephrased as...as much as 20% of the...material...shatters and falls...Note: The phrase "leaf and small-stem" is an adjective phrase that refers to the word "material".

B is incorrect and can be rephrased as...as much as 20% of the...material...shatter and fall.To correct B, we can rewrite it as...as many as 20% of the...materials...shatter and fall.

Are you sure?For me the subject is "20 percent of the leaf" and "small-stem material" (that is, two nouns joined by AND), so it is therefore plural.

Could you explain this?Many thanks in advance.

cabelk wrote:

For the GMAT question stated in the original post,D is correct and can be rephrased as...as much as 20% of the...material...shatters and falls...Note: The phrase "leaf and small-stem" is an adjective phrase that refers to the word "material".

B is incorrect and can be rephrased as...as much as 20% of the...material...shatter and fall.To correct B, we can rewrite it as...as many as 20% of the...materials...shatter and fall.

ANS: D

CONFUSION ABOUT COMPOUND SUBJECTSFor the GMAT question stated in the original post, the phrase "20% of the leaf and small-stem material" is not a COMPOUND SUBJECT because the structure of the phrase as a COMPOUND SUBJECT is not parallel. To function as a COMPOUND SUBJECT with proper parallel structure, the phrase could be rewritten as"as much as 20% of the leaf and all of the small-stem material shatter and fall"

TOPIC: NOUNS AS ADJECTIVESConcerning the phrase "20% of the leaf and small-stem material",The NOUN "leaf" is acting as an ADJECTIVE which modifies "material".

For example, if I baked 1 pie composed of a mix of apples and cherries, I could say:"20% of the apple and cherry pie is gone."Note: "apple" and "cherry" are NOUNS acting as ADJECTIVES, together modifying the subject "pie".Note: Regardless of the apples and cherries in the pie, the word "pie" is still singular.

HOW TO SIMPLIFYIf you're still having difficulty, you can simplify the phrase.First, determine if the NOUN is acting as an ADJECTIVE.Second, replace the NOUN AS ADJECTIVE with a simple ADJECTIVE.

For example, you can rewrite:"20% of the leaf and small-stem material"as"20% of the fuzzy and fluffy material"

Are you sure?For me the subject is "20 percent of the leaf" and "small-stem material" (that is, two nouns joined by AND), so it is therefore plural.

Could you explain this?Many thanks in advance.

cabelk wrote:

For the GMAT question stated in the original post,D is correct and can be rephrased as...as much as 20% of the...material...shatters and falls...Note: The phrase "leaf and small-stem" is an adjective phrase that refers to the word "material".

B is incorrect and can be rephrased as...as much as 20% of the...material...shatter and fall.To correct B, we can rewrite it as...as many as 20% of the...materials...shatter and fall.

ANS: D

CONFUSION ABOUT COMPOUND SUBJECTSFor the GMAT question stated in the original post, the phrase "20% of the leaf and small-stem material" is not a COMPOUND SUBJECT because the structure of the phrase as a COMPOUND SUBJECT is not parallel. To function as a COMPOUND SUBJECT with proper parallel structure, the phrase could be rewritten as"as much as 20% of the leaf and all of the small-stem material shatter and fall"

TOPIC: NOUNS AS ADJECTIVESConcerning the phrase "20% of the leaf and small-stem material",The NOUN "leaf" is acting as an ADJECTIVE which modifies "material".

For example, if I baked 1 pie composed of a mix of apples and cherries, I could say:"20% of the apple and cherry pie is gone."Note: "apple" and "cherry" are NOUNS acting as ADJECTIVES, together modifying the subject "pie".Note: Regardless of the apples and cherries in the pie, the word "pie" is still singular.

HOW TO SIMPLIFYIf you're still having difficulty, you can simplify the phrase.First, determine if the NOUN is acting as an ADJECTIVE.Second, replace the NOUN AS ADJECTIVE with a simple ADJECTIVE.

For example, you can rewrite:"20% of the leaf and small-stem material"as"20% of the fuzzy and fluffy material"

Thank you so much for your time and effort and such a good explanation. However, I'm not sure that I'd answer a similar kind of question correctly in the future.